COTTON 



513 



1'in i H, 



1820. 



Kuropa (except Turkey)... 1277 200-4 



Turkry, KK.vpt, and Africa. 9'5 74'0 



America (i-xc.-pt U.S.) .... 60-0 2786 



23'8 32 1 



Hi it isli Bant Indie* ) ..... J 14.. -1 



Chlnn. .lupun. Java, &c... ) *' * \ 29-9 



All other Countries 197 2'9 J147 



200-6 



:<:,; H 



627-1 

 226-8 

 8-.25-1 



1880. 1887. 



306"-! 447^2 



688-6 6734 



851-6 84(1-4 



77-9 44-0 



1813-4 1973-4 



032*0 763 '0 



b77 256-7 



Total yards 260-0 



YARN. 



ib. 

 Europe (except Turkey ). . . 22-0 



Turkey 0'6 



Britiih Kast In.li-s 



i Inn. i. .i.-i|>.-ui, Java, &c 



All other Countries 0'5 



790-0 2070-2 4490-8 40041 



Ib. 

 91-9 



8-3 

 10-1 



1-8 



6-4 



Ib. 



110-0 

 19-0 

 307 

 8-8 

 M1 



Ih. Ih. 



96-1 129-8 



12-4 24-4 



47-1 36-3 



40-4 61-6 



147 10-0 



Total Ib '23-0 118'5 197'3 2157 261-0 



Continental Europe was the principal outlet for 

 both goods and yarn in 1820, and is so still in 

 respect of yarn. Next followed America, There 

 was a considerable increase in the exports to both 

 districts between 1820 and 1840, but between 1840 

 and 1800 the business with the Continent was 

 almost stationary, owing to the large increase in 

 domestic cotton industries of the various countries. 

 The trade with the United States increased con- 

 siderably down to 1860, but since then the highly 

 protective tariff introduced during the war has 

 reduced the business to an insignificant compass. 

 The low prices brought about by diminished cost 

 of production (1840 to 1860) led to a large increase 

 in the trade with Turkey, and there has since 

 been an almost constant, though more gradual, 

 movement in the same direction. One hundred 

 years ago, about the time when Arkwright's 

 patents were thrown open, Manchester complained 

 loudly of the injurious competition of calico im- 

 ported from India, and from time to time the 

 duties were increased. About fifty years later 

 ( 1831 ) the manufacturers and dealers of Bengal 

 asked for the removal of these duties, on the ground 

 that the native industry was being seriously in- j 

 j 11 red by the import of cotton fabrics from England, 

 although the shipments from this side had not yet 

 assumed important proportions. Even in 1840 

 they were only 145 million yards, but in 1860 they 

 reached 825 million yards, thanks to the improve- 

 ments in the power-loom already mentioned. The 

 same circumstance, and the opening of the ports 

 in 1841-42, led to a similar expansion in the trade 

 with China. Since 1869 (except the temporary 

 interruption occasioned by the cotton famine), the 

 business with the East has been largely augmented, 

 and now more than half the piece-goods and more 

 than one-third of the yarn exported from Great 

 Britain go to India and China. 



The following statement gives the weight of 

 yarn produced, number of spindles at work, number 

 of hands employed, and the production per spindle 

 and hand in Great Britain, at various dates : 



Yum 



Produced. 



1829-31 

 1344-46 

 1859-81 



Spindles at 

 Work. 



No. 

 7,000,000 



10,000,000 



19,500,000 

 30,400,000 

 43,000,000 



106,500,000 

 210,500,000 

 623,300,000 

 910,000,000 



MIS.OJO.OOO 



A portion of the yarn produced is exported ; the 

 balance is woven into piece-goods. The particulars 

 compare as follows : 



llali.N 



Employed. 



110,000 

 140,000 

 11)0,000 



148,000 



245,000 



Production per 

 Spindle. Bund. 

 Ib. 



15-2 

 21-6 

 2(1-8 

 30-0 

 82-9 



'.His 



1546 

 2754 

 3671 

 6900 



1810-21 

 1829-31 

 1844-48 



1851M51 



1-vti 87 



<: 1- 



Produced. 



Ib. 



80,620,000 

 142,000,000 

 348,110,000 

 660,870,000 

 1,102,000,000 



Loom* 

 at Work. 



225,6oO 

 305,000 

 BS.OOO 



HO.OOO 



Hnnds 

 Employed. 



160,000 



275,000 

 210,000 

 8,000 

 166,000 



Production per 



Loom. Uiuid. 



Ib. Ib. 



'335 842 



470 621 



1234 1081. 



1627 8206 



2008 4669 



There were 24o,000 hand-looms and 15,000 power- 

 looms at work in 1819-21 ; 225,000 and 80,000 

 respectively in 1829-31; and 60,000 and 220,000 

 137 



respectively in 1844-46. In 1859-61 the hand-loom 

 liail practically disappeared. 



The factory returns for 1885 gave the number of 

 spindles in the United Kingdom a* only 44, .'U 

 uguiiist 44,206,690 in 1878, of which 40,121,4">1 

 against 39,527,920 werespinning-Kpindleft, biittlteHe 

 figures were defective. The number of Hpinning- 

 snindles actually in existence was certainly little 

 if any less than 43,000,000, as about 3,000,000 had 

 IM-.-M put up in the Oldham district alone between 

 1878 and 1885. The number of looms is stated an 

 560,000, but this is also too small. In 1888 it was 

 said by those in the trade that about 600,000 were 

 at work, and 580,000 is a fair estimate for 1886-87. 

 The capital employed in the industry may be stated 

 as follows : 



43,000,000 spinning - spindle* and 6,000,000 

 doubling-spindles. Probable cost 24n. per 

 spindle, present value about 18s. per spindle. 43,200,000 



680,000 looms. Probable cost 24 each, present 



value about 20 each 11,600,000 



Floating capital requisite to carry on the business 26,000,000 



Capital employed in printing, bleaching, and 



other works 18,000,000 



Capital employed in the manufacture of cotton, 



lace, and hosiery 7,000,000 



Total 104,800,000 



According to the census tables for 1881 there 

 were 686,000 operatives and others employed in 

 the cotton industry. In 1889 there were about 

 700,000. The average rate of wages is about 42 

 per annum, or a total of 29,400,000. The amount 

 paid for raw cotton in 1887 was 34,460,000 

 viz. 1,486,855,000 Ib. at 5^ 8 d. per Ib. The value 

 of all kinds of cotton products exported was 

 70,957,000, and the value of the products con- 

 sumed at home 30,440,000. These figures compare 

 as follows with those for 1859-61 : 



1850-61. 1887. 



Value of products exported 49,029,000 70,957,000 



Value of home consumption 27,971,000 30,440,000 



Total value of products 77,000,000 101,897,000 



Paid for cotton 29,290,000 84,460,000 



Paid for wages 20,995,000 29,400,000 



Balance lor all other exp. and profits 26,715,000 37,537,000 



Total as above 77,000,000 101,397,000 



Taking into consideration the persons employed 

 in the building of the mills and making of the 

 machines, and in the buying and selling of the 

 raw and manufactured articles, it will be found 

 that something like 4.1 to 5 million individuals are 

 dependent upon the prosperity of the cotton trade 

 for their livelihood. 



The earnings of the work-people have upon the 

 whole steadily increased from year to year. The 

 following table furnishes the rates current in 1839, 

 1849, 1859, and 1887. It will be observed that the 

 proportionate advance during the last- mentioned 

 period was on an average much greater in the lowest 

 than in the highest paid hands : 



AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGES. 



1830. 1849. 1859. 1887. 



89 Hours. 80 Hours. 56J Hours. 



Carding Department * * * * * <* * 



8cutchers(l) 70 76 80 120tol50 



Strippers (2) 110 120 140 103 .. 190 



Overlookers 260 280 280 28 ,. 80 



Mule-Spinning 



Minders 160 180 200 28 .. 40 



Piecere(S) 80 90 100 11 ,. 20 



(U.rlookers 200 220 260 28 ,, 67 



Throstle Spinning 



Sp.niRTs(4). 40 46 50 90.. 140 



(women) 70 76 90 140,, 200 



Overlookers 180 200 240 800 ,,360 



Wearing 



Winders (6) 90 96 96 100 ,,200 



Sizers(men) 230 230 250 80 45 



Three-loom weavers (6). 13 13 15 16 ,, 19 



Four-loom ,. .. 17 16 19 20 25 6 



Six-loom i, .... . . . . 29 32 



Note. U) Women and girli: (2) young men : (SI women and ruuuc men; 



(4) firU 14 to 18 yean; (5) jroung women; (6) women and men. 



